Distribution cutout



July l5, 1941. H, 1 UNGAL ErAL l 2,249,014

DISTRIBUTION cUTouT Filed sept. 29, 1956 Patented July i5, wel

2,249,0ld. DISTRIBUTION CU'EOEJ'E Harry J. Lingal and Herbert Ji. Crabbs, Wilkinsburg, Pa., assignors & Manufacturing i)oinpanyk7 Westinghouse Electric East yittsburgh,

Pa., a corporation oi Pennsylvania Application September 29,

lil @latins This invention relates to cut-outs o the type which operate upon the separation of a fuse wire. it is a purpose of this invention to mount an indicator upon'the cover oi a fuse box so that by its movement to a conspicuous position, it will indicate that the cut-out has operated.

It is a further object oi this invention to so mount the cover that a motion first in one direction and then in a different direction will be required to bring the cover to its final open position after melting oi' the fuse linie.

Other objects of the invention will .be appare ent to those skilled in the art and will 'ce disg covered by the following description and the companying drawing, in which Figure l is a vertical section oi the device;

Fig; 2 is a front elevation with part o the cover broken away;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken upon the line IIl-Ill of Fig. i; and

Fig. i is a detail view in perspective plate near the top of t oi the ne tube.

The device includes 'a boit i of insulation or re ractory material such. as porcelain within which is mounted a fuse tube This is mounted on the cover of the box in engagement with a pair of shaped contact spring assemblies ".i best illustrated in Fig. 3. A U-shapedspring carrying each contact assembly i is held in place in the box by its opposite members being seated in notches 5 in the walls oi the box. The cross member of the il-shaped spring is riveted as shown at t to other U-sliaped spring Contact ngers il and which press against the beveled corners ii oi a terminal block mounted upon the tube The cross pieces of the upper contact assembly7 extend upward and are prolonged into springs ifi and i-which apply a downward bias tothe knob iii at the cap screwed on the terminal block or ierrule i3- at the top oi the fuse tube. These springs may serve as carriers of current or the current may be introduced through the upper terminal block IS on the fuse tube by the spring contact lingers Si' and 9 in away that is well understood in the art. A similar set of spring contact fingers but without the upward extension is shown near the lower end of the tube 2 and cooperates with the lower terminalblock or ferrule 2t of the fuse tube.

Provision for leading current into the box and from the box are illustrated at 2i and 22 in the usual way. A fuse wire extends from the terminal at the upper end out of the lower end of the tube 2. It is drawn tightly around the edge of the lower mouth of the. tube 2 and sei, Serial No. 103,133

iCCi., 25M-121) cured in place by a nut 2l screw-mounted on the blocl; Ztl.

The wire 25 engages a hook 29 mounted the inner face of the indicator 3i of molded inn1 sulating material. An opening'li is provided in the door for the accommodation of the hook 29 and, if necessary, a second hole Si may be provided to accommodate the nut il. The upper end of the indicator 3l is mounted approximately at the middle of the cover 32 by means oi a pivot 3ft which is carried in ears 35 and molded integral with the cover d2 of insulating material and extending outwardly therefrom.

.a spring 38 is wound upon the pivot lil and one end thereof bears against a surface the inner face of the indicator ti. The other end o the spring bears against an inclined surface i shaped in the cover 32, tends across the cover 32 near the bottom ci the opening provided for the hoolr 2S. The ends o the cross pin l5 are mounted inthe side walls of the box l and pass through elongated openings li in the portions oi the cover at each side oi this opening.

An inwardly projecting member it@ is secured tothe indicator 3i and when the indicator is in the position illustrated in the full lines o Fig. l, the member 49 engages the cross pin t5 andcauses the cover 32 to be held in its highest po sition against the downward bias oi springs ifi and iii, in which position the cross pin i5 is at the bottom o the openings il in the cover.

The portions of the cover Si containing the openings il extend inwardly beyond the bottom oi the tube 2 and are united by a cross member behind the mouth oi the tube when the cover is in its highest position. When so located it cooperates with the bottom wall of the box which extends forward to the edge et.

The extensions at the bottom oi the co Si and the cross member 55 form an opening in which the lower end of the fuse tube 12 is positioned, thus holding the lower end of the fuse tube to the door. The upper end of the fuse tube is held on the door by means of a clip 5H (shown in Fig. 4). The clip 54 is provided with a slot 62 in which the knob I6 on the cap is positioned laterally. The knob i6 is normally held in an enlargedportion 63 at the closed end of the slot, by means of a small spring B. The clip 511 on the door has a pair of notches 65 which are engaged by ribs 66 on the spring clips 5I and 52, tolatch the door closed. The door may be opened by a strong pull which will dis A cross pin itil ex- `the fuse has blown. As the Yon the door by inserting the lower engage the notches 65 from the spring clips 5i and 52.

in the operation of the device, when the Wire 25 is iused it separates and releases the hook 29. Thereupon the spring 38 causes the indicator to move to the position shown in dotted lines. This is a conspicuous position and is readily observed and indicates to the observer that indicator moves outward it withdraws the wire 25 separating the fused ends and if the arc is not yet extinguished, extinguishes it. When the indicator has thus moved, the inwardly projecting member 49 no longer engages the cross pin 45 and the cover 32 can descend until the upper end of the Openings 4l engage the cross pin 45, as a pivot to the pendant position.

This downward movement of the door permits the notches 65 on the clip 54 to clear the lower edge of the ribs 66 on the clips 5| and 52, thus unlatching the door and. permitting it to move to open position. When the door moves to its open position it carries with it the fuse tube 2, thus disconnecting it from the line.

Certain parts of the device illustrated may be omitted if desired and the description of the springs 5l and 52 which are integral with the .cross piece riveted to the upper spring contact assembly 3 at the rivet 6. When this pin 50 is present, it engages the inner part of the plate or clip 54 which is secured to the inner side of the door. The pin 50 prevents the plate 54 from descending and so prevents the cover 32 from descending even when the member 49 has disengaged the cross member 45. By leaving the pin 50 in position, the user may at his option, prevent the door from moving to open position when the fuse link blows. The indicator 3|, however, still moves to its conspicuous position, thus showing that the fuse element has been melted.

When the door is in the pendant position, the tube 2 can be removed by first moving the upper end side-wise to carry the knob I6 out of engagement with the slot 62 withdrawing the tube fuse tube is then replaced end of the fuse tube in the opening formed by the cross member 55 and the upper end of the fuse tube is moved laterally so that the knob I 8 engages the notch 63 inthe slot 52 on the plate 54. Before the cover is again closed, the new wire must be hooked over the hook 29.

With the pin 50 in place, when the fuse Wire 25 releases the hook 29, the indicator 3| moves outward to its conspicuous position, but nothing more happens. Under these circumstances, the fusion of the wire and not a separation' of the fuse tube from its contact fingers 8 and 9 is depended on to maintain the open circuit.

We .claim as our invention:

1. In a circuit interrupter, a container, a fuse tube in said container, a iiexible fusible member extending through one end of the fuse tube, a

on said door and biased to a conspicuous position, a retaining device mounted on said indicator and cooperating with said fusible member to hold the indicator close to said door, a bearing member carried by said indicator, and a pintle carried by the container cooperating with said bearing member to hold said door elevated, said releases said retaining device the indicator moves to conspicuous member to cease to cooperate with the pintle and the door to first lower and then swing open.

2. In a circuit interrupter, a container, a fuse tube in said container, a flexible fusible member extending through one end of the fuse tube, a door closing said container, an indicator mounted on said door and biased to a conspicuous position, a retaining device mounted on said indicator and cooperating with said fusible member to hold the indicator close to said door, a bearing member carried by said indicator, a pintle carried by the container cooperating with said bearing member to hold said door elevated, said door when lowered being free to open around said pintle, whereby when said fusible member releases said retaining device the indicator moves to conspicuous position, causing the bearing member to cease to operate with the pintle and the door to iirst lower and then swing open, and removable retaining means which when in position prevents the door from lowering when released by said bearing member.

3. In a circuit opener, a container, a closure therefor adapted to be lowered and elevated between predetermined limits with respect to said container when in the closed position, an indicatorkpivotally mounted on said closure, a support member carried by said indicator, stationary means co-operating with said support member only when the indicator is in one extreme position to hold the closure in elevated relation with respect to the container, and means for retaining the closure closed While in elevated position.

4. In a circuit opener, a container, a closure therefor pivotally connected onto the container, said pivotal connection permitting a sliding movement of the closure relative to the container when the closure is in closed position, a fusible element in the container normally preventing said sliding movement .but permitting said sliding movement when fused, and latching means normally holding the closure in closed position, said latching means cooperating with said pivotal connection to hold said closure against rotation about said pivotal connection upon fusion of said fusible element during predetermined sliding movement of said closure and being released following said predetermined sliding movement to enable said closure to rotate about said pivotal connection to the open position.

5. In a circuit interrupter, a housing, a door for said housing, pivot means supporting said door for swinging movement with respect to said housing, said pivot means permitting limited sliding movement of said door with respect to said housing, latching means operable when said door is in a predetermined position with respect to said housing for holding the door in closed position, a fuse assembly including a fusible element mounted on said door and movable therewith, an indicator pivotally mounted on said door and movable between limiting positions, a control door closing said container, an indicator mounted member carried by said indicator adapted to c0- position, causing the bearing with said pivot means for holding said door in said predetermined position when said indicator is in one extreme position, said indicator being restrained in said one extreme position by said fusible element, and biasing means for moving said indicator to the other extreme position upon fusion of said fusible element.

6. In a circuitI interrupter, a housing, a door for said housing, pivot means supporting said door for swinging movement with respect to said operate housing, said pivot means permitting limited sliding movement of said door with respect to said housing, latching means operable when said door is in a predetermined position lwith respect to said housing for holding the door in closed position, a fuse assembly including a fusible element mounted on said door and movable therewith, an

, control member.

'7. In a circuit interrupter, a housing, a door for said housing, a fuse assembly mounted on said said latching means holding said doorA against rotation about said pivot means upon fusion of said fusible element during a portion of said sliding movement and being adapted to release said door upon the completion of said sliding movement to cause the door to rotate about said pivot means to the open position.

8. In a fuse device, a housing, a door pivotally supported by said housing, said pivotal support permitting limited sliding movement of said door relative to said housing when the door is in closed position, stationary contacts within said housing, a fuse tube carried by said door and having a fuse link electrically connecting said stationary door including a fusible element, pivot means 1 supporting said door and fuse assembly, said pivot means permitting sliding movement between predeterminedlimits of said door with respect to said housing, a control member carried by said door movable between predetermined positions, said control member being restrained in one ex. treme position by said fusible element for hold- 'ing said door against sliding movement, biasing` control member to the of said fusible means for moving said other extreme position `upon fusion element tov cause said predetermined sliding movement of said door. normally holding said and latching means for door in closed position,

, spect to door to cause release of said holding means door and fuse tube,

contacts, and latch means for holding said door closed, said door being slidably moved with resaid housing upon rupture of said fuse link for detaching said latching means.

9. In a fuse device, a housing, a door for said housing, pivot means supporting said door for swinging movement with respect to said housing, said pivot means permitting limited sliding movement of said door relative to said housing when the door is in closed position, a fuse tubefcarried by said door, a fusible link within said fuse tube, latch meansnormally operative to hold said door closed when the latter is in a predetermined position, and biasing means for sliding said door from said predetermined position to detach said latch means, said fusible link normally restraining said door against movement by said biasing means.

10. In a fuse device, a housing, a door for said housing pivotally mounted thereon, holding means normally preventing pivotal movement of said door, a fuse tube by said door and adaptedv to be moved out of said housing upon pivotal movement of said door. said pivotal mounting permitting limited sliding movement of said door and fuse tube relative to said housing without pivotal movement of said and permit pivotal movement of said door to the open position, and a fuse link in said fuse tube for controlling the said release movement of said HARRY J. LINGAL. HERBERT J. cannes.

within said housing carried 

